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Torbjörn Blomdahl grabs double in Antalya

02/17/2013

Published by frits bakker

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© © Harry van Nijlen
Torbjörn Blomdahl with the Antalya World Cup trophee on stage

ANTALYA – There was a little Torbjörn Blomdahl show at the end. He made his final carom, in style, and the hands went skyward in triumph. The 50-year old Swede won his 41st career World Cup in Antalya.  Jérémy Bury (31) lost his third final, and has to wait for a new chance.

It felt like a double victory. The World Cup win came with a coveted bonus: the nr. 1 position on the world ranking list. The Swede, who lives in Backnang, Germany, is now in the lead with 432 points, ahead of Frédéric Caudron who has 383, Dick Jaspers and Jérémy Bury are both on 318 and Eddy Merckx is on 316.

The final of the Antalya tournament was less than electrifying and certainly not on the level achieved several times earlier in the week. The prelude (the two semifinals) were more lively than the final match.

Before the break, there was not much between the two (Bury was leading 21 - 17), then Blomdahl went on the offensive with runs of 7 and 4. His opponent was confined to his chair, the resilience had left him, spent as he was from his majestic semifinal against Jaspers.

The first World Cup of the year saw three seasoned players in the final four, with Jérémy Bury as the new face, even if he has spent a few years at the highest echelon now. The two countries where 3-cushion is the most popular were missing on the final day. The Koreans were in it until the quarters, with Kyung-Roul Kim. The Korean champion lost that match to Blomdahl.

The Turks lost their top players Tayfun Tasdemir and Lütfi Cenet early. Adnan Yüksel and Savas Bulut made the quarterfinal, only to be eliminated by Dick Jaspers and Eddy Merckx.

The tournament did not shake up the world ranking all that much. The top twelve remained intact, with some changes. The major surprise was Frédéric Caudron’s early exit, which cost him the nr. 1 position.

Dick Jaspers and Jérémy Bury made the biggest leap: Bury went from eight to 3, where he is joined by Jaspers who was sixth. On that shared third place, they are ahead of Eddy Merckx by just two points.

Dick Jaspers ended the tournament with a general average that is higher than the world record set by Frédéric Caudron in Vienna last year. Caudron then played 2.420, Jaspers now did 2.465. But since Jaspers did not make the final – and therefore had one less match – his average will not be considered a record.

The billiard player circus will now travel to Viersen, where from 21 to 24 Februari, the World championships for national teams will be played. The Belgians - Eddy Merckx and Frédéric Caudron, are the defending champions.

Final standings for “Antalya”:
1 Torbjörn Blomdahl, 1.834
2 Jérémy Bury, 2.076
3 Dick Jaspers 2.465
4 Eddy Merckx 2.276
5 Adnan Yüksel 2.083
6 Kyung-Roul Kim 1.676
7 Javier Palazón 1.513
8 Savas Bulut 1.320
9 Marco Zanetti 2.064
10 Martin Horn 2.000.

Eddy Merckx had the high run, with 17. Jérémy Bury scored a 16, Roland Forthomme and Birol Uymaz a 14.

The new world ranking:
1 Torbjörn Blomdahl 432
2 Frédéric Caudron 383
3 en 4 Jérémy Bury and Dick Jaspers 318
5 Eddy Merckx 316
6 Dani Sánchez 306
7 Sung-Won Choi 301
8 Marco Zanetti 255
9 Filippos Kasidokostas and Kyung-Roul Kim 254
11 Jae Ho Cho 224
12 Murat Naci Coklu 223
13 Martin Horn 204
14 en 15: Tayfun Tasdemir and Lütfi Cenet 194.

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